Scheffler shoots 59, Johnson 60 as Lowry and McDowell bow out of FedEx Cup
Scottie Scheffler of the United States holds up his golf ball in celebration after scoring a 59 during the second round of The Northern Trust at TPC Boston on August 21, 2020 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell saw their slim FedEx Cup hopes evaporate when they missed the cut in the Northern Trust at TPC Boston.
As Texan Scottie Scheffler (24) blasted the 12th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history, a 12-under 59, and Dustin Johnson then ambled through his first 11 holes in 11-under only to par the rest and shoot 60, the Irish pair had a more sedate day.
Lowry (33) and McDowell (41) can start making plans for next month’s US Open while Rory McIlroy can look forward to an 8”30 am tee-time with Tiger Woods (71 yesterday) after squeaking through the three-under cut mark on the limit after making four bogeys and five birdies in a one-under 70.
Lowry needed a top-five finish in Boston to make the top 70 who progress to next week’s BMW Championship in Chicago.
But an erratic 69 left him two shots outside the cut mark on one-under as McDowell, who required a top-10, shot 72 to prop up the field on seven-over.
Dallas star Scheffler (24), joint fourth behind Collin Morikawa in the PGA Championship, brushed in a five-footer at the last for his 12th birdie of the day and a 59 that gave him the early lead with Australian Cameron Davis (25) on 13-under.
It appeared that nobody would top that story until Johnson started birdie-eagle-birdie-eagle-birdie, then birdied the seventh, eighth, 10th and 11th to set himself up to beat Jim Furyk's PGA Tour record of 58.
He needed another three birdies but made seven straight pars instead, inexplicably hitting driver through the fairway into rough at the last, forcing him to lay up and eventually settle for a par five, a 60 and a two-stroke lead over Scheffler and Davis on 15-under.
“Obviously you start thinking about it [59] but I was trying to play one shot at a time. I was hitting it good. I knew if I could get on the greens and give myself some good looks, I could definitely have a chance,” said Johnson, who also missed a 10 footer on the 17th.
“Obviously 18, if I had to do over again, I would have probably hit 3-wood but it is what it is. I was trying to get a short iron in my hand. Unfortunately, if it had been flat in the rough, I could have knocked it on, but ball was below my feet, had a tough shot but gave myself chances on 17 and 18.”
Asked if he was disappointed not to break 60, Johnson said: ”No. Any time you shoot a number like that, you're never going to be disappointed. I definitely feel like the game is in good form and need to come out tomorrow and do the same thing.
“18, I should have hit 3-wood off the tee there because I could have had 3-wood and 6-iron on the green. Yeah, if I had to do over again, I'd hit a 3-wood there because I'm going to hit the fairway. Driver, I was just trying to chip it up there and kind of just pushed it a little bit to the right. Even then, though, if it would have been down in the flat, I would have been fine. There's not really any rough there. It is what it is. Didn't happen, so maybe I'll go out tomorrow and try to shoot 59.”
When another reporter began “Career low for you. Congratulations or condolences?”, Johnson said: “Either one, I don't really care. It's a good score. I'm happy with it. I played really well yesterday. I just didn't make any putts. Today I played the same. I just rolled in some putts. So it was definitely nice to see the ball going in the hole.”
